Exactly seven days after their historic first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the Fab Four returned for a second live performance. The Beatles‘ second Ed Sullivan Show appearance aired live on February 16, 1964, from the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

While a rehearsal was captured on film at 2:00 PM, it remained un-aired.

The main event kicked off at 8:00 PM before a crowd of 2,600 fans.

Interestingly, the logistics were a bit of a mess: CBS distributed 3,500 tickets—nearly 1,000 more than the room could hold—forcing local police to intervene when frustrated fans were turned away.

Despite the massive hype surrounding the band, The Beatles were actually not the night’s headliner.

That honor went to entertainer Mitzi Gaynor. The evening’s program featured Mitzi Gaynor and Comedian Myron Cohen. Heavyweight champions Joe Louis and Sonny Liston were spotted in the crowd.

Ed Sullivan introduced them by recognizing the importance of the previous week’s events:

“And now, this has happened again,” he began. “Last Sunday, on our show in New York, the Beatles played to the greatest TV audience that’s ever been assembled in the history of American TV. Now tonight, here in Miami Beach, again the Beatles face a record-busting audience. Ladies and gentlemen, here are four of the nicest youngsters we’ve ever had on our stage … the Beatles! Bring ’em on!“…

Setlist:

The broadcast was a cultural juggernaut, reaching roughly 70 million viewers across more than 22 million households. The episode was later rebroadcast in September of that same year.

“We had never been anywhere where there were palm trees,” said Paul McCartney in Anthology. “We had a great time down there. We played at one of the hotels … and we’d look down on the beach where the fans would write ‘I love John’ in the sand, so big we could read it from our rooms.”

The performance was a high-energy follow-up to their historic Feb. 9 debut, showcasing the band during their first week in the United States.

To celebrate the successful production, hotel owner Maurice Lansberg hosted an elaborate after-party for the cast and crew, serving a high-end spread of lobster, steak, chicken, and fish.